Bourton-on-the-Water and the Rissington's.
Start. Bourton-on-the-Water.
Route. Bourton-on-the-Water - Station Road - Cemetery Lane - Cotswold Carp Farm - Rissington Mill - St Peter's Church - Little Rissington - Wyck Rissington - Oxfordshire Way - Salmonsbury Meadows - Bourton-on-the-Water.
Notes. Traditional Cotswold buildings line the wide main street, through which flows the River Windrush, spanned by elegant bridges it's banks shaded by fine trees, it's easy to see why this picturesque village is known as "Venice of the Cotswolds".Many of the buildings have been converted into tea rooms and gift shops, proof this idyllic village is a crowd puller. We're still using the worlds worst guide book, come along see what you make of the drivel spilling from the pages. You can start with a brew in that tea room yonder, while we the expert navigators ask directions in the Tourist Information, they couldn't understand the book either, so sold us, with a you'll be back grin on their faces a detailed hand drawn map.
We didn't need to go back, this hand drawn map was the key to breaking the code that spilled from the pages of the worlds worst guide book. We wandered down High Street the river to our right, on reaching Station Road we turned left, with tarmac under foot we walked passed the main car park to reach a sign promising this was the lane to the cemetery. Over Cemetery Lane we wandered, the lane swung left passed the cemetery entrance before morphing into a stoney track, after passing through a gate we joined a narrow path cutting between flooded gravel pits. This is a carp fishery and nature reserve, disappointedly the path was fenced, it guided us into open farm land. Through fields the hand drawn map lead us, passed Rissington Mill before guiding us to medieval St Peter's Church, perched on a small promontory the church gifts the lucky parishioners and us ramblers with stunning views over the Windrush Valley. From the church it was a short walk into Little Rissington.
We left the village via a hedge lined lane, telegraph poles and hedge rows ushered us passed a livery stable before a metal gate allowed access to cow pastures, we descended to the north, passed through a metal gate to access a wide ancient track-way passing along the bottom edge of the field, after a couple of farm gates the track turned into a stoney lane, in turn this lane guided us into Wyck Rissington. Another lovely backwater, a long central village green greeted us, a duck pond and Victorian drinking fountain, delightful houses and 13th century rural church. God provided a comfy perch, we sat in the shade of an ancient Yew amidst various shaped head stones, had a brew and had a go at de-coding the next section of the worlds worst guide book.
The Oxfordshire Way runs through Wyck Rissington, this 65 mile footpath linking the Cotswolds and the Chilterns guided us through the village, once passed the village pond we entered pastures to our left, pastoral rambling continued through Salmonsbury Meadows Nature Reserve before we emerged onto at tarmac lane leading back into Bourton-on-the-Water.
Bourton-on-the-Water described as "Little Venice of the Cotswolds".
Straddling the River Windrush a number of elegant bridges.
Carp fishery and nature reserve passed en route to Rissington Mill.
Sue on the approach to Rissington Mill.
You guessed right, there's not much to photograph when you have to put up with photos of yours truly.
A view, the Windrush Valley taken from near St Peter's Church.
Perfectly proportioned, the restored Church of St Peter Little Rissington, dates back to medieval times.
I love cemeteries and burial grounds, Sue says I'm creepy, but history spills from every corner.
Ancient track north of Little Rissington, one of the main arteries of days gone by.
Dating back to the 13th century the Church of St Lawrence, Wyck Rissington.
Lined by mainly 16th century houses the elongated village green Wyck Rissington....
....comes equipped with Victorian drinking fountain.
The half mile long village green at Wyck Rissington.
Most villages were once able to boast a village pond, originally used to water animals both farm and domestic.
Safety in numbers, I believe they're Starlings.
Back in Bourton-on-the-Water, back amongst the many day trippers hoping to find a quiet pub for lunch.